17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

How do you preach the Good News to the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed?

20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22 The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

What can we learn about community from the Trinity?

What do it mean to you to be “perfected in unity” with all God’s people?

17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

How have you come to know God through Jesus?

What has been the impact of grace on your understanding of truth? And vice versa?

It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.” 2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.3 ‘Give us each day our daily bread.4 ‘And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”

5 Then He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11 Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12 Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

How can we incorporate more of the persistent prayer Jesus teaches about here into our daily life?

The recent Catholic buzz and media frenzy around the Pope’s most recent interview has blown up. Have you read the interview? What are your thoughts, especially as Dominican Young Adults? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments here and join in the conversation as a group or individually.

Super excited for the 2013 International Dominican Youth Movement (IDYM) meeting in Bogota, Colombia this summer (July 7-15). Want to join in this exciting opportunity!? Reach out to Sean Mundy, dyanatcor@gmail.com and fill out the form at http://api.appscol.com/idymp/public/